It finally happened (plug blowout)

[Trm1765]

The statistics that where mentioned earlier seem irrelevant to me. Here is my two cents worth on to spend money on plug locks or not, even if I exaggerate the numbers... if only 1 out of 1 million plugs blow out, but plug locks of some type guarantee that I am not that 1 that does blow out, then I should spend the 30 bucks on the locks. That is cheap insurance.
It doesn't matter to me what the cause of the blowout is, operator error when putting in, mechanical error of the plug itself, design problem, it doesn't matter. The locks take to problem away, completely.
I see all pro and no cons adding plug locks. They are easy to install the first time, (5 minutes) they are easier to install for everyday use, (seconds) they are easy to take out, (seconds) they don't effect any warranties, they are cheap, and they guarantee no plug blow-out.

And if there is a limit on money or time, adding plug locks is way easier and cheaper than adding second bilge pumps and some of the other options I hear people doing in case of plug blow outs.

 

[Duece315]

After 10 years I experienced my first plug blowout today. Cruising around all day at various speeds and suddenly at 9800 RPM... POP! It got really quiet and the boat started to slow, the next thing I knew, my back was getting soaked. As I turned around to look, all that I saw was a wall of water coming at me! It was quit freaky as I didn't know what happened, I briefly thought somebody ran up onto my stern or the aft section of boat fell off. The wall of water cascaded down into the entire boat from stern to windshield. Some of the water shot up onto the underside of the deployed Bimini and spread throughout the cabin. To top it off my bilge pump failed and did not pump any water. Thank goodness for the deck scupper as it got rid of most water.

After getting back to my warehouse and thoroughly cleaning the boat, I looked into why the plug blew. All I noticed was that the plug that blew has a sticky/hard release button compared to the other plug. This must be the issue.

So, I have many things on my to do list after today's excitement:

-Rebuild plugs
-Order Jeff W's plug fix
-Replace the stock bilge pump
-Adjust the clean out hatch to latch tightly.
-Change my vote in the "Have you had a blow out" thread/poll.

Want to know how you got back did the engine fail does the boat take on water even after the engine is off?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

There are 2 types of plug failures on the 2000 to 2016 push button plugs the first is a violent blow out where the rear hatch is damaged and the plug blows completely out, the second is the worst , that is when the plug only dislodges a bit and the engine compartment fills with water because the plug did not erupt and shut down the engines by blowing open the rear hatch. This has been known to damage engines because by the time you realize it the engines have ingested water. Here is a video showing how the plug can fail to lock all the way and cause the plug to blow out .

Although These push button plugs are no longer used in the newer boats I still carry the EZ lock as it is time tested and proven to not only stop the plug from blowing out during use it also tells you when it prevented a plug blowout.

 

[nosterka]

There are 2 types of plug failures on the 2000 to 2016 push button plugs the first is a violent blow out where the rear hatch is damaged and the plug blows completely out, the second is the worst , that is when the plug only dislodges a bit and the engine compartment fills with water because the plug did not erupt and shut down the engines by blowing open the rear hatch. This has been known to damage engines because by the time you realize it the engines have ingested water. Here is a video showing how the plug can fail to lock all the way and cause the plug to blow out .

Although These push button plugs are no longer used in the newer boats I still carry the EZ lock as it is time tested and proven to not only stop the plug from blowing out during use it also tells you when it prevented a plug blowout.

Do these locks only apply to boats up to 2016?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Do these locks only apply to boats up to 2016?

Yes

 

[nosterka]

Yes

So I am guessing Yamaha had updated the plug to reduce the likelihood of a blowout if installed correctly? Sorry, I am new to Yamaha boats, just picked up a 252 and trying to learn all I can about them.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

you have the new style plugs they were discontinued in 2017 and replaced with a twist in plug , I do hear grumblings about those as well so do a search I would recommend putting some bees wax on the area where the plugs twist in and out to make it easier.

 

[Julian]

So I am guessing Yamaha had updated the plug to reduce the likelihood of a blowout if installed correctly? Sorry, I am new to Yamaha boats, just picked up a 252 and trying to learn all I can about them.

Yeah....make sure you follow the installation directions for the new twist in plugs. Would have made sense for them to put bright yellow alignment arrows on them!

 

[nosterka]

Yeah....make sure you follow the installation directions for the new twist in plugs. Would have made sense for them to put bright yellow alignment arrows on them!

you have the new style plugs they were discontinued in 2017 and replaced with a twist in plug , I do hear grumblings about those as well so do a search I would recommend putting some bees wax on the area where the plugs twist in and out to make it easier.

Thanks guys, so far I have been careful to make sure they are lined up and not force them. The dealer coated them fairly well with grease but I also picked up some Yamalube Marine Grease to reapply as needed, I have seen a silicone pool grease recommended but in the manual Yamaha obviously suggests their marine grease so hopefully that works well too.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Want to know how you got back did the engine fail does the boat take on water even after the engine is off?

All that I needed to do was re-seat the plug and let the water pump out of the bilge. The blowout was large enough to cause major reduction in speed and a load odd noise, so I did not run very long with the dislodged plug. Engine must be running at a good rpm in order to spray enough water into the bilge.